Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel has already made waves in the city, and he's become a driving force of the most exciting runs in Charlotte basketball in over 20 years.
Fifty-seven games into his professional career, Kon Knueppel is not just on pace to make history, he’s shattering records.
Armed with a flamethrower for a jumpshot, the rookie for the Charlotte Hornets has turned into the league’s most efficient 3-point shooter.
Not “one of.” The.
The rookie record for 3-pointers made is 206 set by Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings, and draining five of them on Sunday, Knueppel has already made 198 of them.
There are just 24 games left to play.
He’s also leading the league as a whole in 3-pointers made, over the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Stephen Curry, and Trey Murphy.
He’s also flirting with a 50/40/90 season, a feat only nine players in NBA history have achieved.
The only thing that is stopping him from doing so, is his 48.5% field goal percentage. But again, with 25 games left, it’s very possible.
When Knueppel was drafted fourth overall by the Hornets in the 2025 NBA Draft, it was largely overshadowed by the hype his Duke teammate, Cooper Flagg generated. Flagg was the unanimous first overall pick, getting selected by the Dallas Mavericks.
But even with the hype that Flagg generated, it’s Knueppel who’s a major driving force for one of the more exciting teams in basketball.
The Hornets? Basketball’s most exciting team? Are we back in the 90s all of a sudden?
Knueppel has taken Charlotte to levels it hasn’t been in in decades because of the way he approaches the game.
The Hornets, after starting the season on a poor note, have slowly ascended into NBA Play-In territory, and have opened the eyes of NBA analysts nationwide.
Charlotte’s starting five of Knueppel, LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate have the highest offensive rating of all five-man units with a minimum of 200 minutes played.
Knueppel’s parents Kon Sr. and Chari were both elite basketball players of their time. Chari became a Hall of Fame forward for the University of Green Bay-Wisconsin and won the 1999 Horizon League Player of the Year, while Kon Sr. previously held the Wisconsin Lutheran College record in points scored in a season with 2,064.
Growing up, Knueppel told Danielle Stein of WCNC in Charlotte that his father kept track of everything basketball related. From quotes to pictures of body language. But one quote from Larry Bird always stood out to him.
“There was a quote from Larry Bird. My dad has these sheets of all like NBA players in quotes and good body language, bad body language. And one of them was, ‘A guy watching a ball go out of bounds without diving for it makes me sick.’ That was one of them. I think of that all the time.”
For just being 20-years-old, Knueppel already moves like a 10-year veteran. But this is exactly what a team like the Hornets have needed for years.
Someone who prioritizes hooping, and is proud to carry the weight that comes with being face of the franchise.
The Hornets have been in the basement of the NBA since returning to the city in 2004, but if Knueppel continues on this pace, the franchise may very well be in fantastic hands for the next 10 years.
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